Amplified Bible
Proverbs 26:2
2Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving].
Proverbs 26:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
- New International Version (NIV)Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
Context of Proverbs 26:2
1Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a [shortsighted] fool. Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving]. 3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the backs of fools [who refuse to learn]. 4Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly, Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.
Read all of Proverbs 26Proverbs 26:2 word by word
כַּצִּפּ֣וֹר לָ֭נוּד כַּדְּר֣וֹר לָע֑וּף כֵּ֥ן קִֽלְלַ֥ת חִ֝נָּ֗ם ל֣וֹ תָבֹֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 26:2
- Numbers 23:8How shall I curse those whom God has not cursed? Or how can I [violently] denounce those the Lord has not denounced?
- Deuteronomy 23:4because they did not meet you with bread (food) and water on the road as you came out of Egypt, and because they hired [to act] against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
- 1 Samuel 14:28But one of the people told him, “Your father strictly put the people under an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’ ” And the people were exhausted [and hungry].
- 1 Samuel 17:43The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with [shepherd’s] staffs?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
- 2 Samuel 16:12Perhaps the Lord will look on the wrong done to me [by Shimei, if he is acting on his own]; and [in that case perhaps] the Lord will this day return good to me in place of his cursing.”
- Nehemiah 13:2because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.
- Psalms 109:28Let them curse, but You bless. When adversaries arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice.
Commentaries on Proverbs 26:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2As the bird - צפור tsippor is taken often for the sparrow; but means generally any small bird. As the sparrow flies about the house, and the swallow emigrates to strange countries; so an undeserved malediction may flutter about the neighborhood for a season: but in a short time it will disappear as the bird of passage; and never take effect on the innocent person against whom it was pronounced.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2i. e., “Vague as the flight of the sparrow, aimless as the wheelings of the swallow, is the causeless curse. It will never reach its goal.” The marginal reading in the Hebrew, however, gives” to him” instead of “not” or “never;” i. e., “The causeless curse, though it may pass out of our ken, like a bird‘s track in the air, will come on the man who utters it.” Compare the English proverb, “Curses, like young chickens, always come home to roost.”Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2Verse 2 He that is cursed without cause, the curse shall do him no more harm than the bird that flies over his head.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Curses and blessings can truly impact people (see Genesis 27:1–41; 48:8–9, 15–20; Numbers 6:23–27), but a curse without cause does not work.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Though not obvious to us, the bird--literally, "sparrow"--and swallow--have an object in their motions, so penal evil falls on none without a reason.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 26:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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